Packers' financial picture remains strong

New broadcast contracts, Pro Shop contribute to another revenue record

July 20, 2015

byMike Spofford

GREEN BAY – Setting another revenue record has become practically an annual occurrence at 1265 Lombardi Ave.

This year’s record of $375.7 million in revenue, up more than $50 million from a year ago, is due mostly to the new national broadcast contracts that boosted the revenue of all the teams in the league, and to the new Packers Pro Shop that opened last summer.

“The continued popularity of the NFL is apparent in these numbers,” said Packers President/CEO Mark Murphy, as the organization released its annual financial report on Monday. “Overall, we’re continuing to perform strong financially. The success of the team on the field and the support from our fans has helped drive it.”

National revenue, which makes up about 60 percent of the Packers’ total revenue picture and includes the broadcast deals, increased $38.7 million from the last fiscal year, while local revenue went up $12.9 million.

More than half of the boost in local revenue was thanks to the new Pro Shop, now located in the new ground floor of the Lambeau Field Atrium.

“Having the expanded Pro Shop has been a real help to us,” Murphy said. “It’s roughly twice the size of the old space, and it’s a lot more efficient.”

Expenses jumped as well, up $37.8 million, primarily due to three factors – depreciation of the latest round of stadium improvements, an assessment from the league as a result of debt refinancing, and costs related to the development of the upcoming “Titletown” district.

The Packers have continued to purchase and prepare land around Lambeau Field for future development.

Player costs remained relatively stable, but those are expected to increase next year, as a higher salary cap will result from the revenue generated by the new broadcast contracts.

The bottom line produced a $13.8 million increase in operating profit, from $25.6 million last year to $39.4 million this year. Net income was reported as $29.2 million after interest on debt and other development costs were factored in.

The new Pro Shop and other stadium improvements have helped financially as expected, Murphy said, and the $312 million invested in the stadium over the last several years has involved 3,000 jobs and $130 million in wages. Roughly 96 percent of the money has been spent in Wisconsin and roughly half in Brown County.

Work on Lambeau Field isn’t done, either. Next up is a $55 million renovation of the suites and club seats, which will feature installing operable windows, among other improvements.

“We keep on investing in the stadium to keep it state-of-the-art, and we continue to use local companies when the opportunities present themselves,” Packers Board of Directors Treasurer Mark McMullen said.

The Packers also continue to grow their overall community impact. The “Packers Give Back” program surpassed $7 million in charitable contributions in the last year, up from $6 million in recent years.

In addition, the endowment for the Packers Foundation has now surpassed $20 million. The Foundation has helped to fund six-figure impact grants to the UW-Green Bay scholarship fund, “Achieve Brown County,” and area hunger relief efforts in recent years, with more impact grants to be announced soon.

Plans for the “Titletown” district could be coming soon, as well. Thus far, Murphy has said a public plaza will be part of the overall concept, with more details coming in the near future.

“The development we’ve been working on is part of our investment in the community as well,” Murphy said. “We’ve been purchasing property and finalizing some of the last pieces. We’re trying to build on some of the success of Lambeau Field and bring more visitors to the area.”

In a press conference on Monday, Murphy said the Packers are 18th in the league in average ticket price, which achieves the team’s goal of being just beneath the league average, and the Packers are ninth in the league in revenue. The waiting list for Packers tickets is 115,000.

The Packers continue to explore variable ticket pricing. Even though lowering the cost of preseason tickets wouldn’t lower the cost of a season ticket, the decrease in preseason ticket prices would help ticket-holders to sell their preseason tickets.